Information Technology Foresight

The latest thinking on creating competitive advantage through information technology.

March 2017

Demystifying machine learning

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are no doubt among the most prominent new technologies crowding your emerging-tech radar screen. Still in the early stages of development, their potential for transforming how companies analyze data of all kinds is unlimited.

Is machine learning just a fancy word for the same old computer programming we have employed for decades? Or, is it a mystical computer that can learn anything?

More importantly, why does it matter to your business?

Great strides have been made in teaching computers how to learn on their own. Computer scientists are now taking advantage of huge amounts of data and massive computing power to develop several new computer learning techniques. This month’s issue of IT Foresight features Demystifying machine learning, a series of four articles on the current state of technology, how it is being applied in a range of business context, and its considerable potential.

PwC’s latest survey of CEOs highlighted the rapidly increasing impact of technology on their businesses, and thus the importance of innovation. Successful innovation, however, requires collaboration—internally, with external partners, and even with machines. Collaboration enables cross-disciplinary fertilization; without it, no company can generate truly radically new ideas. So take advantage of every means at your disposal—virtual meeting software, social discovery tools, mobile technology, even artificial intelligence—to get your teams working together. The future is now.

Embarking on a major digital transformation is expensive, and fraught with risks. Among them is the lack of certainty on the value generated through digitization. To fully quantify and capture that value, companies need to put together a systematic program for measuring return on digital investments. Key performance indicators in across six key areas will be the basis: customers, employees, operations, safety and soundness, infrastructure, and disruption and innovation.

A variety of new digital tools has sparked renewed interest in business process automation (BPA). The key to success is to not get hung up on the technology, but to focus on the benefits to be gained, and to manage the transition effectively.